Hellcat Squadran: Make Me Bad
Pain Mark checked his bowstring to see if it was ready. The next day, he and Kira were going to try and negotiate the release, or rescue, a large group of hostages that were being held by an unknown mercenary faction. He loaded his quiver up with then forty-eight arrows it could carry and placed it and the bow on the table, along with his knife and tomahawk. Kira walked in, not carrying any weaponry. She didn't need them, she had her powers to use. "Just another day in the office, eh?" She said. He nodded. "A day in the life of." He replied. "Well, I'm going to bed now." Kira said. "Kira, its four in the afternoon." He pointed out. "I know, you're coming with me." She said, took his hand and took him upstairs. The next morning, the jumped in their car, Mark armed and Kira empowered, and drove out to the dockside warehouse they had been designated towards. They waited outside until it grew dark, and then got out of the car and advanced towards it. "You came." A voice sounded. "Yeah, what do you want for the hostages?" Mark called up. "It isn't hard, Mark. I wanted you two." The door opened a throng of people advanced forward, brandishing machetes, clubs, baseball bats, and other such things. "Go get em." Kira said and jumped into the throng. Mark ran around and climbed through a window. He looked around and saw a group of seventeen hostages tied up in a corner, guarded by a large number of similarly armed guards. He rained arrows down on them and they all eventually fell. He jumped down and untied them. They made their way out a side door and ran for their lives. Outside, Kira carved through the throng of guards, almost bored. Her powers gave her the ultimate advantage as she used metal powers to cut, earth to pummel, air to choke, the force to send them flying, and psychic powers to send them flying to their demise. As their ranks thinned, she felt an unfamiliar disturbance nearby, then, a bow twanged, and their was an agonizing burn in her chest, right above her heart. The impact put her on her knees. She looked down and saw an arrow protruding from her chest. The arrowhead was hooked in and had a lightsaber blade for the tip. She looked up and saw a black cloaked archer standing atop the roof. He lowered his bow, satisfied. She rose again and continued killing the guards, this time more quickly and more brutal. She tore out spines and used them as weapons, ripped heads off, snapped limbs, broke ribs to smithereens and then, she collapsed again, a second, similar arrow in her stomach. Her mind immediately flew to Mark. That was all she thought about as she rose again and continued to tear apart her enemies, eventually, she had killed them all, and a third arrow hit her in the right side of her chest. She fell down on her knees again, and then looked up and saw her assailant, a dark archer standing before her. He murmured something and drew his bowstring back, but was then interrupted as an arrow knocked his aim off course. Mark lunged out of the warehouse at the dark archer, but the other man was ready. It only took four punches to put Mark on the ground. Mark quickly knocked an arrow and put it in the leg of the man. Who cried out in pain before kicking Mark in the face and jumping onto a boat, which took him away. Mark nocked his last arrow and fired. The man caught it four inches before his left eye, then snapped it in half. Mark ran over and knelt next to Kira. "No, no, no, no, please god no..." He said and began to cradle her. "Mark, hon...listen...I left a...message...in armory downstairs...password...your name..." "Take me to it yourself, just stay with me." He begged her, tears forming in his eyes. "That's not gonna happen, babe..." She said, quickly kissed him one last time, then her head fell back, mouthing the words I love you to him, and then the light in her eyes dimmed and went out completely. ---- Elle shook her head, annoyed, as she heard mattress springs bounce again and again from Sasha's room. "Next chance we get, we're swapping that box-spring out for something quieter..." Elle grumbled. "You met the guy yet?" Sean asked. "Not yet..." "Nice enough guy. This is their fifteenth time seeing each other." Sean said. "Wow, she stayed with someone that long?" Elle asked, incredulous. "You won't like him." Sean said. "I had a feeling...what about him?" She asked. "His dad has terminal cancer, and they badly need money for treatment. Unless they win the lottery there aren't any legal means." "What do you mean 'there aren't any legal means'?" Elle asked. "They need four hundred grand in two months." Sean replied, to her annoyance. "...You're avoiding my question..." He sighed. "So, since his dad was a science teacher, they survive by cooking and selling meth." Sean said. "What?!" She exclaimed, then quieted down again. "See, told you." "That's not illegal, that stuff kills people!" She hissed. "Two centuries ago. You clearly haven't been paying attention to the news." He said. "I'm not just talking about directly, and not just about the users, either!" Elle said. "Elle, did you approve of what Ana did, going out to war as a hobby?" Sean asked her. "Not at first, then again, she managed to keep it secret for 2 years, and by the time I found out, she basically was able to beat the crap out of the practical reincarnation of Kcaz, so..." Elle said. "Well, Sasha's been helping their...ah...business out since they met last year, before Ana went away." Sean said. "What?!" Elle said. "You haven't met him, he knows the risks, he doesn't use, neither does his dad. The moment they can get out of the hole they plan on starting a repair shop. ANd he genuinely cares about Sasha. Wouldn't you prefer that over her starting a career as a pornstar? Which she did talk about considering, before the great Ana blow up." Sean told his wife. Elle sighed and then thought for a moment. "Couldn't there be some way we could provide the money, or at least give them a large portion, so they wouldn't have to make Meth? We do get a lot of income from Hellcat Squadran..." "They won't take it. I offered. They're against that sort of thing." Sean replied. "So...they'd rather be hunted by people like Black Cell than accept someone giving them money for this purpose?" Elle asked. "Their life." Sean said, shrugging. "I don't know...I guess I just think differently..." Immediately after Elle said that, they heard a scream from Sasha. "You don't need to go." Sean said before Elle could get up. "What's going on?" "You were louder on the honeymoon." Sean said. "Honeymoon?" She asked. "Elle, they're having sex down there." He said bluntly. Elle sighed. He snaked his arm around her back and pulled her on top of him. "Now? Really?" She asked. "Why not?" "Good point." She said. Sasha fell forward and simply lay contentedly on Aaron's chest. Both were panting heavily as they had just finished up. "I've made up my mind. I'm moving in with you." She said. "You sure?" He asked her. "Yep, I just need time to get ready, figure out how to leave." Sasha said. "Still, you sure? Our op is always being hunted." he said. "Baby, I'm sure. They're the ones who wanted me to find a meaningful relationship, they can suck it the fuck up if they don't like who I decide that will be." She said. She had never given less of a shit what her family thought of her. "Alright, I'll be glad for the extra company." He said. "Yeah, and by the way, Maya, Angel and Lilith all want to help as well." She said. "Wow. Thanks. We need all the help we can get." He said. "That you do." Sasha said and gave him a kiss on the neck. "What about your sister?" He asked her. "She'll be ok. She's got her Vint now." Sasha said. "Besides, unless we end up wanted, I can come and visit." She added. He nodded. "Alright, I'm going to sleep now." Sasha said and nodded off immediately afterwards. Chalk Outline The next several days were a blur for Mark. When the whirl of police, grieving friends, and paparazzi had stopped, he found himself sitting alone in his kitchen. He felt slightly dead as he was flooded with the memories. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a case of beer. The next morning, he awoke scrunched into a small ball at the bottom of his closet. He got up, remembering that, unlike most people, he didn't get hangovers. He wandered into the kitchen and picked up a box of military rations and loaded it into his truck. He also picked up his bow, all of his arrows, his set of throwing knives, his combat knife, his tomahawk, and all of his money. He loaded them into the back seat of the truck and put his old motorbike in the back. He ran back inside and pulled out his cowl and combat gear. He placed them with the bow and dressed plainclothes. He drove out until he eventually just got too tired to keep going, and pulled over. He leaned against the window and fell asleep. His dreams were all of him and Kira, and they all ended with one of those lethal black arrows entering her in the exact same positions they had been in when she had died. When he awoke, he ate a few rations and kept going. He stopped in a small, rural town and picked up lunch. As he ate, someone sat down across from him. "Hey." Said Maya Arslan, accompanied by Angel Carano. "Are you ok?" Angel asked him. "No, I'm not." he replied. "Yeah, get that." Maya said. "Where you headed?" Angel asked. "I'm trying to get to Saint HQ, but I'm...a little..confused..." He said. "We're going in that direction, just follow our van." Maya said and pointed at the blue van outside, where he saw Lilith Volker sleeping in the driver's seat. "Where's Ziva?" "Still at Kaven. She has her reasons." Maya said. "Alright, we should go soon." Mark said and they started heading down the highway again. As he absentmindedly drove, he kept on seeing the investigation of the scene where Kira had died. He remembered staring at her chalk outline for hours on end until someone had the good sense to get him out of the street. He thought about the morgue, and the funeral. Both were horrible for him to go through. Her funeral had been massive. All he really remembered was how Korra had been the one to give the eulogy, as he had been unable to do so and Leandra wasn't able to force, bribe, or buy a flight to earth. There was a moment where he realized he was almost in the ditch, and corrected his driving. He cursed and kept going. Once they had reached Saint HQ, he walked in, thanked Maya, Lilith, and Angel, and watched them leave. He turned and saw Ian sitting on the porch of the big house, polishing his machete. He walked up and Ian looked at him. Mark sat down and Ian simply nodded, the gesture conveying everything that could be said between the two. "What's new here?" Mark asked. "Allison's expecting again, aside from that, not much is new." He said. "Again? She just had her second kid." Mark said, surprised. "Hey, if you can do it..." Ian said. Mark nodded. "Can I get you a drink?" Ian offered. "No, but I do need your help." Mark said. "You need files into the Dark Archer." Ian said knowingly. Mark nodded and Ian walked into the house. He returned with a folder and gave it to Mark, who thanked him. "You're welcome to stay the night, if you want." Ian said. "Thanks, I'll leave in the morning." Mark said and started reading. As he read, he saw that The Saints had somehow been able to find the Archer's name, and the name scared him. Noah Renner. Norm's younger brother. He swore. He found Allison, as Norm wasn't anywhere to be found. He knocked on the door and she opened it. "Hey, we need to talk." He said. "About?" She asked. "Did you hear about Kira?" He asked, hoping she had, as it had been a week and a half. "Yes...my condolences." She said. "Thanks. Well, I found out who killed her." He said hurriedly. "Some dark archer, right?" She asked. "Yeah, well, I found out the guy's identity. Noah Renner, Norm's little brother." He said. "Why'd he do it?" She asked. "I don't know. That's why I need to find Norm. Do you know where he is?" He asked. "Hiding." She said. "Hiding? From what?" He asked. "Don't know." She said simply. "Crap...well, if you find him, let me know, please." He asked her. "I will." She said. "Thanks." Mark said and went out to look. He found his cousin out in the woods. Norm was leaned against a tree, holding a hunting rifle tightly. Mark walked over, and then instinctively ducked. A black arrow with a lightsaber tip pierced the tree behind him. Mark cursed his stupidity of not getting his bow and arrows. "Our cousin has arrived, brother." Noah called out. "I'll draw his fire, shoot to wound, I want him alive." Mark said to Norm, who gave him a look as he moved to another tree, an arrow missing his head by centimeters. Norm shot once, then yelled "I didn't hit him!" Mark poked his head out and saw where the lightsaber arrow activated before ducking behind the tree again. Noah was standing atop a hill surrounded by tree coverage. Mark looked around and saw a set of trees that appeared to be climbable. He climbed up and Norm provided more covering fire. Mark jumped from tree to tree and made his way over. Mark leaped down once he saw Noah and charged forward. Noah stepped to the side and clotheslined him, knocking him down flat on his back. Noah fired an arrow off and Mark heard Norm scream. He jumped up and went to attack Noah, then fell, an arrow piercing his shoulder. Noah stepped over him, his face still covered by his hood. He loaded another arrow. "A shame. I had hoped you would be more of a challenge." Noah said, then stopped. He took the arrow out of the bowstring and placed it back in the quiver. He put the bow down and raised his hands. Someone stepped forward and pistol-whipped him over the head. Ian held a hand out and helped Mark up as Norm stumbled from the forest, a lightsaber shaped hole through the palm of his hand. "We have some work to do." Ian told them as he cuffed Noah. Somebody Someone Sasha returned home after being out training all day. Aaron was at his own home with his father, who's cancer was improving. Sasha opened the door and saw her mother in the living room. "Hey mom. What's new?" She asked her mother. "...Nothing. Nothing much." Elle said after a moment. "You ok?" Sasha asked. "...Yeah. I'm alright." Elle replied. "Hey, uh, I've got something I need to tell you." Sasha said. "What?" Elle asked. Sasha took a deep breath. "You know how me and Aaron have been seeing each other for more then a few months by now, I hope." Sasha said. "More or less..." Elle said, a sense of foreboding coming over her. "Well, we're serious about it, and I know you don't approve and I really don't care." Sasha said. Elle was simply silent. "And...I'm going to move in with him." Sasha said. Elle's eyes widened. "What?" She asked, extremely caught off guard. "You're the one who said its good to be with the one you love the most. That's what I'm going to do." Sasha said. Elle sighed, trying to calm herself down. "I know...I know..." She said, then sighed again, and started thinking. "Just say it, mom." Sasha said. "...Nothing..." Elle said, though she clearly just didn't know what to say. "I'm gonna stay for another week." Sasha told her mother. "Alright...what about Anastasia though? How do you think she will take the news?" Elle asked. "She has Vint. When they start to get serious, she'll understand." Sasha said. "...You have a point there...I actually moved in with your father before we were married." Elle said, absentminded. "Well, marriage probably won't happen." Sasha said, to which Elle was silent. "Why no response?" Sasha asked. "Was half expecting you to say that. Who knows, you might change your mind eventually...then again..." Elle said. "Probably not. I already told dad. By the way, don't tell Ana. That'll be my job." Sasha said. Elle nodded. "Alright." She said. Sasha went up to bed and went to sleep. A few hours later, Sean came home. "So, how'd things go?" Elle asked. "Ziva kicked my ass, but it went ok." "How'd that happen?" Elle asked. "She trains in Muay Thai and grew up in a forest." He reminded her. "Ah...guess that'd help." Elle said. "Yeah, brought back memories, though." He said. "Memories?" She asked. "You, you always beat me." Sean said. "Oh, right..." Elle said and smiled, remembering. "Did Sasha tell you?" Sean asked her. "She's moving out? Yeah..." Elle said. "What do you think?" Sean asked her. "...I don't know..." She said and shook her head. "She'll be ok, you know that." Sean said to his wife. Elle sighed. "Yeah, I guess so..." She sighed again and shook her head. "Have you slept yet?" Sean asked her. "Not yet..." Elle said. "Come on, you look like you need it." He told her. Elle loosely nodded and forced herself to her feet. "Should I carry you?" Sean asked jokingly. "I can make it..." She said, giving him a look. "Ok, ok. You know, we're gonna have the house to ourselves for a while." He pointed out. "...Yeah...guess we are..." Elle said tiredly. "Ok, you're tired. Something tells me you'll be sleeping in tomorrow." Sean said. Elle just seemed too tired to say anything else. Sean promptly scooped her up and began to carry her to the bedroom. By the time he had laid her down on the bed, she had fallen asleep. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before returning to the kitchen for a taco. A week later, Sasha had moved out and moved in with Aaron, in the next state over. After dropping her stuff off, she accompanied Aaron to a meth deal. They met Bryan, Aaron's dad, in a garage. "Really dad? Here?" Aaron asked. "Well, where do you sell, enlighten me." Bryan said. "Taco Bell. Have the deals I've ever done were at Taco Bell. Nice and public, loud, so nobody can hear you...nobody ever gets shot at Taco Bell." Aaron said, getting a laugh out of Sasha. They each put balaclavas on to hide their faces as the buyers drove in. "This is the king of the business." Bryan muttered to Sasha as the group stepped out, headed by a man who stood four feet tall. "Your product is most impressive. Nobody else can make this at ninety-nine percent pure." The small man said. "That's why we want it." He added. "What is your offer?" Bryan asked. The man snapped his fingers and a trio of suitcases was brought out. "This is ten thousand dollars each. You will be paid three of these every two weeks." The man said. Bryan nodded. "Your product will be delivered to you at the Taco Bell on the outskirts of the city, at noon, a week from now." Bryan said. "From then on out, you will receive a delivery every two weeks, as per our payment. More then that means more money." Bryan said. The small man nodded and left, leaving each of them to take a suitcase and leave. When they returned home, Aaron took Sasha up to his room. "Alright, let's celebrate the first payment." Sasha said and shoved him onto the bed. The next few weeks were a flurry of cooking and selling. The money they were making now was more then enough to pay for Bryan's cancer. One night, Aaron came home and couldn't find Sasha. He looked around everywhere and eventually found her sitting on the edge of the bathtub, head in her hands. "You ok?" He asked, crouching down. "Yeah...yeah. We're gonna need a lot more money, babe." Sasha said. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I'm pregnant and I ain't aborting." came her reply. Did My Time Mark looked through the window and saw Noah sitting there, perfectly calm and collected while Ian beat the living shit from him. "I won't reveal why I did what I did, Bauer. If you wish to kill me, go ahead." Noah said calmly. "You aren't afraid, why not?" Ian asked him. "There isn't much you can do to me now. I've done time in every major prison in the universe, I've experienced worse than death. Nothing fazes me anymore." Noah said, shrugging. "Why? Your cousin, your brother?" Ian asked. "I just said, I won't tell you why. Besides, they could likely piece it together." Ian sighed, punched him across the face one more time and walked out of the room. "Do you want to say anything to him?" He asked Mark. Norm hadn't attended, as he just wanted to go home to his family. "No. He doesn't deserve the satisfaction of seeing me." Mark said. "What will you do with him?" He asked Ian. "I'll send him away. Send him to a prison on Mandalore. Zack was a noted figure there for simply being married to Leandra. Killing their daughter won't be good for him in a Mando prison." Ian said. Mark nodded. "The dead don't suffer." He said and walked out of the room. "The dead don't suffer." He repeated to himself and returned to Kaven Base. The only reason he was still there was because Kira would have wanted him there. He went down into his basement and dressed into his battle wear and readied his weaponry. He made it out to the city, slowly looked around, and pulled his hood over his face. He had work to do. Aaron and Bryan were in Bryan's basement cooking. Sasha was across the street in her and Aaron's new house. She was nervous as hell, she didn't think she was ready for motherhood. But at the same time, she knew that she had to be. She sure as shit wasn't going to abort the pregnancy, to her mind, that just wasn't right. She also knew that she had to take some more precautionary steps. Her parents were both war heroes with enemies coming out of their asses, her brother was a Jedi living on The Saints' headquarters, which wasn't a very good thing to have a child near. And her sister...Anastasia was also a war hero and the bane of an enemy faction. She had an entire army looking for her. She had even gone into exile to avoid being assassinated. There's no way I can have my child around that. Hell, this meth business is safer than my own family at this point. She thought to herself. She was saddened by this realization, but knew it was deathly necessary. It might deny her child some of the family benefits, but she knew her child's life would have to come first. She wouldn't make the mistakes her own mother had made, she promised herself. She would have to trust her child to make their own decisions. That's not to say she wouldn't keep an eye on the child, but she knew everyone deserved their freedom at that age. She glanced down at her stomach and whispered "Please don't end up exactly like me." Out on Mandalore, Leandra watched Scott sleep. The toddler had already been able to break a few chairs by accident, and, if she was to be honest with herself, she couldn't have been prouder. She went out into the living room and lay down on the couch. She opened up a picture album and began to flip through it. She remembered back when she was with Zeta, and then Omikron, and then being dead. Then she remembered the adoption of Emilia and the birth of Riley and Kira. Then the recent events that just made everything go downward. She sighed. She was happy that Ryan and most of the Ferrans were here on Mandalore. She knew that even in the hellish world that she had been living in recently, they were the ones she could trust the most. She got up and walked over to the phone to check the messages. Most were from students that wanted private lessons. She had taken up teaching new young warriors as a way of keeping busy when she wasn't with Scott. Then she found one from Mark, saying that Kira's killer had been taken to justice and would be in a prison on Mandalore. She knew that the man would suffer more there than if she was there, so she was fine with it. Then she remembered the horrible state the Squadran was in. IceBite was driving it into the ground. Someone else would have to lead, and soon. She sighed and clicked stop on the messages before going to bed herself, hoping the few good people back there could survive the hell they were entering.